U.S. Route 212 in Minnesota

U.S. Highway 212
U.S. 212 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	161.787 mi (260.371 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 212 at South Dakota state line
	US 59 at Montevideo MN 23 / MN 67 at Granite Falls US 71 at Olivia MN 22 at Glencoe MN 5 at Norwood Young America MN 41 at Chaska I-494 / MN 5 at Eden Prairie
East end:	US 169 / MN 62 at Edina
Location
Counties:	Lac Qui Parle, Chippewa, Yellow Medicine, Renville, McLeod, Carver, Hennepin
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← MN 210 MN 217 →

Within the U.S. state of Minnesota, U.S. Highway 212 (U.S. 212) travels from the South Dakota state line in the west, crossing the southwestern part of the state, to the Minneapolis – Saint Paul metropolitan area in the east, ending at its interchange with U.S. 169 and State Highway 62 in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina. U.S. 212 in Minnesota has an official length of 161.8 miles (260.4 km). It is an urban freeway within the Minneapolis – Saint Paul area, and is mostly a two-lane rural road elsewhere in the state.

Prior to the establishment of the U.S. Highway system, most of the U.S. 212 corridor in Minnesota was part the transcontinental auto trail known as the Yellowstone Trail, which was established in 1917. U.S. 212 was established in 1926 but originally terminated at U.S. Highway 12 in the city of Willmar from 1926 to 1934. U.S. 212 was shifted to its current alignment around 1934, continuing slightly east of its current terminus to end at then U.S. 12 in Saint Paul until 1982, when U.S. 212 was truncated to Edina. In 2008, the Twin Cities portion of U.S. 212 was relocated to a new freeway (formerly designated as State Highway 312 from 2003 to 2008).

U.S. Highway 212 in Minnesota passes through seven counties in the southern part of the state, from the South Dakota state line to the Twin Cities area. It runs in straight east–west course from the South Dakota line across prairie land to the city of Montevideo. From there the route follows the valley of the Minnesota River to Granite Falls. It then leaves the Minnesota River valley to pass through farming areas until Glencoe, where the terrain gradually becomes more hilly as the road continues east. As the route approaches the Twin Cities, the road becomes a freeway running parallel to, but not within, the Minnesota River valley. U.S. 212 ends at the junction of U.S. 169 and State Highway 62 in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina.